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Archive for October, 2012

Air Quality Awareness Month in Birmingham, AL

October is air quality awareness month in Birmingham, AL. Depending on the air quality in your home, the particles you breath in may cause heart attacks, lung cancer, heart disease, and early death. Air particles measure in around 2.5 micrometers, making them much smaller than a human hair. This means that it is impossible for the human eye to determine whether or not your Birmingham home has poor air quality.

The EPA is helping rate the air quality of your area on a scale of zero to five hundred. This scale, also known as the air quality index, takes into account particle pollution, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ground level o-zone. According to the index, a rating of zero to fifty is considered satisfactory, and you are breathing clean air with little to no health risks. Any level above fifty on this scale indicates a serious risk for health concern. Not to mention, any level above 200, the entire population will be affected by the pollutants in the area.

Air Quality of Birmingham

As this is being written, Birmingham, AL has a moderate level rating for the air quality index for particle pollution. Any form of burning wood, power plants, vehicles churning up particles on the road, and many other forms. What this means is that at the current moment, you may be at a greater risk of one of the previously mentioned systems.

Another form of pollution that residents of Birmingham should be aware of is radon gas. Radon gas is an invisible odorless gas that destroys the air quality of your home, and in return, destroys your health. Radon gas is known to be the cause of death for over 20,000 people every single year. If this was not enough for you, many people diagnosed with lung cancer have never even smoked a single cigarette. Birmingham may be at a greater risk for radon gas, meaning that it is extremely important to install an air purification system in your home.

Radon may enter your home in a plethora of ways. A common method for radon intrusion is through the foundation of your Birmingham home. As this horrible gas forms from compounds breaking down in your soil, it forms radon gas and seeps up through your foundation. Intrusion is not limited to the foundation, it may also enter through your water supply, or even be in your building materials.

Air Purification System benefits

An air purification system can dramatically improve the air quality of your Birmingham home. Radon levels may be reduced by as much as 99%. While we already know that you are at a higher risk due to particle pollution, we encourage you to test your home for radon gas as well. Even if your home does not test positive for radon gas, an air purification can reduce your health risks and improve your air quality. Install an air purification system on your Birmingham home for air quality awareness month.